Employers are in a fight for qualified talent. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of job openings rose to 7.5 million in March. The number of hires was 5.7 million. That leaves 1.8 million unfilled positions every month in the United States. Why?

Three years ago, 15 military service members preparing to transition to civilian employment gathered at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, Washington, to participate in the pilot cohort of a new corporate fellowship program.